Elite Frustration

[jackdiamond]

Andy, your observations are right on the money.

[Goofyisme]

Your last statement is totally out of bounds and uncalled for. Host Andy has the highest credibility on the board. I believe your comments should be deleted and if they are it's due to me, not Andy. Bye the way, I've never met him, but would look forward to it.

 

Well said.

[Spf12]

I LOVE Celebrity and being an Elite with all the wonderful perks. We enjoy the social time and free drinks with other similar cruisers and appreciate the laundry - computer time - dry cleaning - all the other nice things they do for us (and do not have to). I am always kind of surprised by people who complain about these nice additions to our cruise.

Karen

Some people complain about everything.

[CathyCruises]

It is VERY frustrating to me to read "I really like the benefits and can't understand why someone would complain about them".

 

Obviously I have not expressed myself very well. I am NOT complaining!!!! I am merely bringing up the topic to see if there would be a better way to handle the often overcrowded Elite cocktail party that would work BETTER for ALL passengers. I would think with all the experienced cruisers who frequent these boards, that someone could come up with a system that would be more efficient and effective, without costing the cruiseline more money or aggravation. I THOUGHT this was a discussion board where new ideas might be generated or people could be encouraged to think outside the box, or the ship in this case.

 

I am HAPPY to be Elite, I am GRATEFUL for the perks I get, I was just surprised by how it worked out in reality for US.

 

Why is it that every time someone posts about something that happened to THEM, or a circumstance they found THEMSELVES in, everyone feels the need to pipe up and say "Well, that never happened to ME!!" I am thrilled that it worked out so well for YOU!!!!

 

I was simply relating MY experience and wondering if there MIGHT be a better way of handling it. Apparently there is not.

[Orator]

It is VERY frustrating to me to read "I really like the benefits and can't understand why someone would complain about them".

 

Obviously I have not expressed myself very well. I am NOT complaining!!!! I am merely bringing up the topic to see if there would be a better way to handle the often overcrowded Elite cocktail party that would work BETTER for ALL passengers. I would think with all the experienced cruisers who frequent these boards, that someone could come up with a system that would be more efficient and effective, without costing the cruise line more money or aggravation. I THOUGHT this was a discussion board where new ideas might be generated or people could be encouraged to think outside the box, or the ship in this case.

 

I am HAPPY to be Elite, I am GRATEFUL for the perks I get, I was just surprised by how it worked out in reality for US.

 

Why is it that every time someone posts about something that happened to THEM, or a circumstance they found THEMSELVES in, everyone feels the need to pipe up and say "Well, that never happened to ME!!" I am thrilled that it worked out so well for YOU!!!!

 

I was simply relating MY experience and wondering if there MIGHT be a better way of handling it. Apparently there is not.

 

I want to thank you for starting this thread. I believe that it is valuable to share our likes, dislikes and frustrations if that leads to a discussion of a potential problem I don't drink alcohol and my drink of choice is Ginger Ale. I really go to meet new people and give my DW a chance to get ready for dinner. I tend to linger and usually stay for more than an hour. The system is far less than perfect. On some cruises, especially TA , there are just too many people. On occasion I've walked around the room and left because I could not find a place to sit. Same is true for a number of Select and Elite events. Several have offered suggestions and I thank them for that. However, I tend to believe that what has been suggested creates more disadvantages than advantages over the current imperfect system. Any solution needs to be workable and practical. It would need to be something that Celebrity would likely embrace. Perhaps the current imperfect system is the most reasonable solution. At least it is to me unless I see something that meet my criteria for change.

[Andy]

I also very much doubt that a discussion on Cruise Critic will result in them eliminating the cocktail hour--come on!!!!

 

And my final point--if it is 5:30 to 8:30 on RCCL, why COULDN'T it be that way on =X=?

 

Hi Cathy,

 

I'd like to join Orator, and say thank you for starting this thread. I feel it's an excellent and timely discussion. I believe we can all agree on 2 points : A lively discussion is what the forums so wonderful, and there are some reasonable concerns regarding the lounge, and how it evolves in the future.

 

I'm not saying a discussion on Cruise Critic would necessarily end the benefit, but I'm confident that most every Cruise line carefully watches what's said on here. More than ever, the voice of Cruise Critic members is heard loud & clear, and lines have made changes based on comments on the forums. The comments are from their Guests, most of whom are passionate for their favorite line. They would be foolish not to pay attention.

 

Case in point - there was an active discussion on the Azamara forum in recent weeks, about privacy concerns. Due to the concerns raised from members, and Azamara management being responsive to the Cruise Critic community, they are doing the right thing, and changing the process. There is absolutely no question, that had this discussion not come up, changes would not have been made. Here'a a link to the story : http://www.cruisecritic.com/news/news.cfm?ID=4854 .

 

Regarding your 5:30 - 8:30 RCCL question... I believe the answer is that RCCL has had the Diamond Lounge for many years prior to Celebrity. Many of their ships were designed with this feature in mind, and they were able to create dedicated lounge areas. It's also easier when many of RCCL's ships are far larger than Celebrity ships. In Celebrity's case - Century, all of the M-Class, and most of the S-Class were built before Celebrity added the lounge to the benefits package.

 

It's interesting that a dedicated lounge was not added to Silhouette and Reflection, but Celebrity seems to be focused on adding more cabins/guests. The M-Class updates & the additional Deck & Suites on Reflection make this fairly obvious. It's this mindset, along with the ever increasing quantity of Elite members, that will only compound the lounge problem over time. I certainly do not blame Celebrity for desiring to add revenues and profits. After all, it's smart business.

 

IMO, it's fair game to hope Celebrity has a long term constructive plan to resolve the lounge situation. I have faith in them, but as Nereus mentioned earlier, I wish Celebrity would reach out to their Captains Club members for their insights and suggestions. We'll see what the future holds.

[LeeGrant]

Kindly disagree about paying top dollar. Celebrity is a fantastic bargain. We just came back from Silversea (one and only time) paid $20,000 for a 9 day cruise in a standard cabin, and we are coming back to Celebrity where you get a friendly staff, good food, and some free drinks..........and a reasonable price.

 

pro-rata it can be top dollar

 

We are not talking about all inclisive lines like silversea - I am talking about similar cruise lines.

[Christine Frances]

5:30 - 8:30 would work really well for Early Traditional:rolleyes:

[fleckle]

........IMO, it's fair game to hope Celebrity has a long term constructive plan to resolve the lounge situation. I have faith in them, but as Nereus mentioned earlier, I wish Celebrity would reach out to their Captains Club members for their insights and suggestions. We'll see what the future holds.

It will be great if someone can come up with a solution to the overcrowding, which will only continue to escalate with time if nothing is changed.

 

The suggestion to give elite passengers coupons for x number of drinks that can be used anywhere on the ship has been about the only workable solution proposed so far.

 

It is obvious that management did not anticipate the impact that granting reciprocity to RCI diamond/diamond plus members would have on Celebrity elite events, but once a perk has been given it is very hard to take it back.

[cruisestitch]

Quote:

 

"should we be expected to try and find something to do for 90 minutes just to save a few dollars?'

 

For some reason I found this statement astonishing. On a ship with a myriad of entertainment options, from the A Cappella singers to the guitarist often found in the Aft Bar, to the Rendezvous lounge dance band (M-class ships), to Perry Grant (Constellation for the time being) to the main stage shows to the movie theater showings to the string trio or quartet to just staying in the lounge and looking at the waves, I can't see how it can be so hard to find something to do after the Elite lounge stops serving before you go to late seating dinner.

[richsea]

Can someone tell me just where it says that the Elite cocktails are supposed to be for pre dinner drinks? It is a perk for attaining elite level In the Captain' s Club. It is provided at a time of the day that is normally cocktail hour. If it does not happen to coincide with ones dinner schedule, then buy a cocktail in the bar of your choice, & go on with your day!

Andy is right, Celebrity will NEVER be able to satisfy everyone. It is what it is, & IMO, we should appreciate the gesture & not find so much fault with it. I remember not too long ago, when the Captain's Club perks were a joke that were not too attractive to anyone.

[cruiseacecat]

Andy,

 

Thank you, once again, for being the voice of reason. This is not the time to bemoan the fact that the hours are not perfect. I, for one, am happy that Celebrity has such a fine program and hope that they will continue to do so. If I can fit my schedule around what is offered, I will go. If not, I will not. Simple as that.

 

Anne

[Orlandocruiser]

Can someone tell me just where it says that the Elite cocktails are supposed to be for pre dinner drinks? It is a perk for attaining elite level In the Captain' s Club. It is provided at a time of the day that is normally cocktail hour. If it does not happen to coincide with ones dinner schedule, then buy a cocktail in the bar of your choice, & go on with your day!

Andy is right, Celebrity will NEVER be able to satisfy everyone. It is what it is, & IMO, we should appreciate the gesture & not find so much fault with it. I remember not too long ago, when the Captain's Club perks were a joke that were not too attractive to anyone.

 

Agreed. We found that the elite cocktail hour was just fine for late seating. We would have a couple of glasses of wine, then go to the 7:00 pm show and then to our favorite bar (Ensemble lounge) for our favorite pre-dinner drink. If someone wants to change the times of the elite cocktail hourb because they don't want to go to the shows then that is their problem.

[Karynanne]

After reading all the posts on this thread, maybe Celebrity should become an all-inclusive cruiseline. But then again that would upset passengers who enjoy paying a lower fare and not really caring about free drinks, etc.

 

Until Celebrity comes up with a viable solution, the Elite benefit for complimentary drinks is going to be an ongoing issue. Overcrowded spaces and limited hours are obviously creating a huge problem onboard.

 

Maybe the good ole days weren't so bad after all...

[If only]

I had quite an ordeal getting Celebrty to properly credit me for cruises taken in order to become Elite. It took months and the brilliant suggestions of a fellow poster to finally achieve this status. I was really looking forward to it for our Eclipse TA in April and to enjoying the nightly cocktail party.

 

Sorry to say, I was so disappointed when reality struck. We always have late seating for dinner, on this cruise at 8:30. When we went to the cocktail party the first night, we got there about 6:15. I had a cosmo, and DH, who doesn't drink alcohol, had a diet coke. I may have had one more, and then we left at 7 when it closed.

 

Hmmm. Now what to do??? An hour and a half until dinner. I had already had two cocktails which is plenty. Go back to our room and sit there in our fancy duds? Go sit someplace else? Really, what DO you do?? It was great for the early diners, who could have a drink or two and go to dinner, but it really is inconvenient for late diners. We tried it one additional night on the 13 night cruise with the same results, and then just stopped going. We ended up hitting the martini bar every night about 7:30, having a drink and sipping very slowly, and talking with our friends before dinner.

 

Am I the only one who feels like the cocktail hour should be revamped to include the late diners as well as the eary ones?? Is this an unreasonabe thought? Many cruises have so many Elites that they have to splut them up and have multiple events--maybe they could have two cocktail hours as well??

 

Cathy

 

We have been Elite for some time now & you just change your schedule around what it going on. We dress nicely for the Elite time but then change for dinner especially on Formal night & have no problem at all. The rest of the time the shows are usually at 7pm for late diners so it works out great. It works well for us and we would not like it taken away. It is great perk.

[SoBe2010]

We went there once but skipped afterwards. Nothing beats a calm deckchair and a sunsetview from the pool deck.

[Cruise Arizona]

We went there once but skipped afterwards. Nothing beats a calm deckchair and a sunsetview from the pool deck.

 

This is so true.

 

We think we have a plan for our next cruise.

 

On our last cruise the Elite hour was 4-6, and sunset was around 6:30, but we all that this varies due to time of year and destination.

 

On some nights we would be ready for dinner for the Elite hour and sometimes we would just change into something smart casual and then get fixed up afterwards.

 

But I too felt the time between elite and dinner, 1 1/2 hours was just too long. We usually would go to the wine cellar and have more wine and cheese and breadsticks.... and I just felt this was too much drinking and too much food. My husband doesn't dance so it was kind of lathergic. I'd got peer over the rail and watch others dance or we'd talk with other couples.

 

But I think we have a solution that will work for us. We don't always go to the show any more so we think that on most nights we might go for a 7:30 dinner time and simply migrate from the happy hour to dinner, enjoying music or conversation along the way until 7:30.

 

We hope this will work out well for us. Last couple of cruises had late seating at 8:45 which was really late for us.

[USVI-4-me]

Quote:

 

"should we be expected to try and find something to do for 90 minutes just to save a few dollars?'

 

For some reason I found this statement astonishing. On a ship with a myriad of entertainment options, from the A Cappella singers to the guitarist often found in the Aft Bar, to the Rendezvous lounge dance band (M-class ships), to Perry Grant (Constellation for the time being) to the main stage shows to the movie theater showings to the string trio or quartet to just staying in the lounge and looking at the waves, I can't see how it can be so hard to find something to do after the Elite lounge stops serving before you go to late seating dinner.

 

Cruisestitch,

Have you been on an S-Class Ship? Very different from M-Class. No Rendevous Lounge. Where is the "myraid of entertainment options"?

 

I can understand CathyCruises when she asks: what do you do in the 90 minutes before dinner if you don't go to the theatre or martini bar.

 

I favor giving COUPONS for Elite cruisers to have complimentary drinks. It would alleviate the crowding in Sky Lounge and give options for those not wanting to participate at "Elite Cocktail Time" in Sky Lounge.

 

I'd spend the time before dinner on pool deck enjoying the sea and breeze. A nice way to finish any day.

 

Maris

[Orator]

Cruisestitch,

Have you been on an S-Class Ship? Very different from M-Class. No Rendevous Lounge. Where is the "myraid of entertainment options"?

 

I can understand CathyCruises when she asks: what do you do in the 90 minutes before dinner if you don't go to the theatre or martini bar.

 

I favor giving COUPONS for Elite cruisers to have complimentary drinks. It would alleviate the crowding in Sky Lounge and give options for those not wanting to participate at "Elite Cocktail Time" in Sky Lounge.

 

I'd spend the time before dinner on pool deck enjoying the sea and breeze. A nice way to finish any day.

 

Maris

 

I think the coupon idea is worth exploring. Celebrity might actually save some money by eliminating snacks, limiting drinks. and saving staff time. We might however lose to opportunity to meet some new people since people may more likely gather with friends in smaller venues. Of course people might debate how many coupons and how and when might they be used, but these are all details. Perhaps they could have a variety of options depending on the number of Elites on the cruise. A tradition Elite hour when the number permits, coupons when too high.

[C 2 C]

We went there once but skipped afterwards. Nothing beats a calm deckchair and a sunsetview from the pool deck.

 

In January, we were in Constellation's Reflections Lounge during elite cocktail event watching the beautiful sunset and looking for the "green flash"....

 

Sure enough, there was thunderous applause as we witnessed this rare event.

The Reflections Lounge is THE place to be for watching a sunset on most evenings on Constellation ( Sky Lounge on Eclipse next Caribbean season) on the 14 day cruise.

I just wish that the lounge would open 10 minutes early just to watch most port departures which occur about 5 pm.. while many of us are standing in line waiting to enter the lounge.

[Christine Frances]

Cruisestitch,

Have you been on an S-Class Ship? Very different from M-Class. No Rendevous Lounge. Where is the "myraid of entertainment options"?

 

I can understand CathyCruises when she asks: what do you do in the 90 minutes before dinner if you don't go to the theatre or martini bar.

 

I favor giving COUPONS for Elite cruisers to have complimentary drinks. It would alleviate the crowding in Sky Lounge and give options for those not wanting to participate at "Elite Cocktail Time" in Sky Lounge.

 

I'd spend the time before dinner on pool deck enjoying the sea and breeze. A nice way to finish any day.

 

Maris

 

With over 70 days on M Class the only time I go to the Rendezvous Lounge is for Trivia in the afternoon:D Its all about what works for you. I don't think I have ever been bored on a ship.

[bhughey]

If you'd like to do cocktails and dinner right after... choose select dining!

[Hlitner]

The OP raises a good point although we sure have trouble complaining about daily cocktail hours when most lines have nothing similar for their frequent cruises (HA and Princess do very little for us). That being said, like the OP we tend to dine late (usually using Anytime Dining) but we have developed our own schedule. We usually go the Elite cocktail time about 5:30 or 5:45 and relax (with a few drinks) until 7. We then head back to our cabin, shower and get ready to go to dinner. Of course since we are Anytime diners we could always go to dinner right after the cocktail hour or take our time and enjoy the shops and show up about 7:30. This is why we like the anytime option since we do things on our own schedule.

 

Hank

[Twice_a_year]

.... is not, in my opinion, the most important facet of the evening social hour. The setting is most conducive towards allowing a venue for meeting other passengers for the first time.

Best perk on the cruise.

[caladezi]

I think the coupon idea is worth exploring. Celebrity might actually save some money by eliminating snacks, limiting drinks. and saving staff time. We might however lose to opportunity to meet some new people since people may more likely gather with friends in smaller venues. Of course people might debate how many coupons and how and when might they be used, but these are all details. Perhaps they could have a variety of options depending on the number of Elites on the cruise. A tradition Elite hour when the number permits, coupons when too high.

 

Perhaps a better idea than coupons is to totally eliminate the evening cocktail time and offer a discounted beverage package price to Elites. This could even be done in tiers where after say 50 cruises the price of the package drops another 10 or 20%. With this method you could buy the type of package that you want at a discounted price and enjoy your drinks where and when you want.